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Sadao Maou is going to conquer Japan, but for now he will settle for working part-time at a fast food store. In another world he was the Demon Lord but he had to retreat from a hard fought battle with the hero of justice to planet Earth. If Sadao’s problem wasn’t enough the hero of justice, Emilia Justina, has followed him all the way to Tokyo in order to take him out.

I’ve been waiting for this manga to arrive for months and was not left disappointed when it did. The first I’ve noticed besides the cover is the texture of the book. The manga I buy are usually glossy, but the cover of this manga has a matte feeling to it.

I found this manga to be really funny.

You have this Demon Lord who has been causing havoc in this magical world where his attempts for further domination has been thwarted by the hero, Emilia. He somehow has been transported to Planet Earth along with his right hand man, Ashiya. After some information gathering he decided that he will conquer Japan. But, to do that, he must conquer all of the McDonald- ahem- McRonald fast food stores. To do that, he has to become the store manager. To do that, he must become a full-time employee. Yep…he is currently working part-time at this fast food store. Haha. In order to get to the top, he must work his way up from the bottom… it doesn’t help that he has to live in an apartment where he rents from a “scary” lady. Haha.

With the way he’s been talking I wouldn’t have thought that he was actually the Demon Lord. He acts more like a young man who is caught up in his own imagination. He’s acting like a law-abiding citizen where he’s struggling for cash and has to live off basic food, alongside Ashiya. Unfortunately for him, the hero Emilia, who now goes by the name Emi Yusa, has somehow followed him to Earth. She is now living on Earth whilst working in an office. She looks very smart in her outfit. =)

I love how Sadao and Emi adapted to life on Earth. Their conversations are awesome. Even though they come from a fantasy land they’re completely acting like normal human beings. The humour comes mostly from the dialogue. One of my favourite lines from Sadao to Emi is “You’re talking like a mob boss.” I thought that was really funny. In some ways, it’s like Sadao and Emi’s roles have been reversed. With Emi speaking ill of Sadao all the time you would have thought that she was a demon in disguise. There were moments where she didn’t act heroic, namely when she was sobbing outside of Sadao’s apartment. It went to the point when he felt sorry for her enough to let her crash in for the night. He even gave her some money after she dropped her purse somewhere…

I’m impressed at Sadao’s professionalism at work, especially when Emi confronted him in the actual shop. I think Chiho is really cute. I like her pigtails, her big eyes and her facial expressions. She seems like a sweet girl and very humble but I can tell straightaway that she has an eye for Sadao. I wonder who is attacking Sadao and Emi? Did someone travel from the magical land as well that hasn’t been introduced yet?

Chiho ended up going on a “date” with Sadao. I’m really happy for her. I really like her dress and hairstyle. You can tell she went all out to make herself nice for Sadao. I liked it that they held hands and they started to talk in some restaurant, just like a proper couple. It does make me curious about Chiho. She spoke with Sadao about the voices in her head relating to these earthquakes, and to her relief, he believed everything she said. I wonder if she has supernatural elements as well. Perhaps that’s partly a reason why she is drawn to Sadao. That and her Dad was the one who spoke to Sadao and Ashiya when they first arrived in Tokyo. Emi got a threatening call from this anonymous person. No doubt it was the same person, in my mind, who caused the earthquake and shot those bullets towards both Sadao and Emi.

Normally I would shake my head in disapproval if a guy can’t read the signs that a girl is into him. However, I bear in mind that he is the Demon Lord who is still adapting to human culture. It’s natural that he won’t get that Chiho is into him, and not necessarily because he’s a man. Ashiya and Emi seem to recognise a love-struck maiden, so perhaps it’s just Sadao after all. Haha. Chiho was just about to confess when Emi interrupted at the worse time. Or best time. It depends how you look at it. An uncomfortable discussion occurs between Emi and Chiho and of course, another earthquake happens. They managed to reconcile eventually, thankfully.^^/

It was really funny when Emi had to sign an I.D. reference for Sadao and Ashiya. I can’t say I saw that coming. It’s moments like that that makes me see this manga as more real life than a fantasy.

Emi’s past, when she is Emilia Justina, is quite emotional. It seemed as though she lived a normal life with her Dad, but she is special because her Mum is an Angel. At some point the people of the church came and took her away. This is so she can build up her strength and fight the Demon Lord. Her tongue and personality might be a little sharp but I find myself sympathising with the hero even more, especially when I started to learn about her past. I’m pleased as well that she actually made a friend.

I really, really enjoyed this first volume. The cameo chapter at the end was especially funny. Emi humiliated Ashiya by giving him food. Normally this is a token of gratitude; however, in this instance it’s very humiliating for Ashiya. This is because he can’t afford to buy much food for both him and Sadao. It’s still nice of Emi to give him some food though, even if she is putting on a front…

I found out recently that Christopher Awdry has indeed finished with writing the Railway Series. To my understanding this was confirmed in the film premier to “The Tail of the Brave.” Alf Fortnam, widow of Hilary, Christopher’s sister, confirmed it… There have been many speculations about this for a while. It was the first book in the Railways Series to have “The End” written at the end of the book… I’m gutted by this as I do enjoy Christopher’s own style of writing Thomas. However, it’s all probably for the best.
Thanks for Reading. =)
Sayonara.^^/

Ryan.

[1] The target audience of this manga is boys. Shounen means boy in Japanese.

I’m going to watch the Royal Rumble this Sunday and I’m looking forward to it. The Royal Rumble is my favourite event of the year along with Wrestlemania. Admittedly, I haven’t really been following it for the past year but I did get back into it when Daniel Bryan made his return. That and Sting making his first ever WWE appearance at Survivor Series…that was such a surreal moment. =)

Anyway, I decided to take this opportunity to share my predictions on what I think may happen…

Pre-Show. New Day vs Cesaro, Tyson Kidd and Adam Rose

It may be short and sweet but I think the New Day will win. They’re popular with the crowd and from the audience point a view a win for the good guys will whet their appetite for the evening.

The New Age Outlaws vs The Ascension

It’s nice to see Road Dogg and Billy Gunn again but I think the Ascension will win this match. It will be a good example on how the classic veterans put over the new generation and make them look strong in the tag team division. If the New Age Outlaws win then I think it will discredit the new and uprising tag team.

The Usos vs The Miz and Damien Mizdow

I really want the Miz and Mizdow to win as I find them hilarious but I think the Usos will win. If the Ascension are going to go for the tag titles then the ideal place will be Wrestlemania. Since they appear to be bad guys they will need to face a tag team that’s probably popular, I.E., the Usos. With that reason in mind I think the Usos will win this match and keep hold of the titles at least when Wrestlemania comes.

Paige and Natalya vs The Bella Twins

I think it would be cool if Paige and Natalya will win but I think it will be a win for the Bella Twins.

John Cena vs Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar

Hmm… I have to say that this match is the hardest to call. I think any outcome of this match is likely. However, whatever happens, I do think that Brock Lesnar will lose the title… unless, he wins the match and the Undertaker makes a surprise entrance in the Royal Rumble, wins, and goes on to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania for the world title. Oh my, that would be some rematch. =D That would be an exciting outcome but I highly doubt that will happen. I can’t see Lesnar retaining his title.

My prediction is that either John Cena or Seth Rollins will win this match… anything could happen in this match. Cena could win the title and Rollins cashes his Money in the Bank. Or it could be that Cena wins and Rollins “cashes in” but doesn’t win the title as he is somehow thwarted by Sting.

WWE Royal Rumble

In an ideal world, for me, Seth Rollins wins the title, Daniel Bryan wins the Rumble and they face each other at Wrestlemania31 in the main event. I think that will be an amazing match. But… unfortunately, I can’t see that happening.

It seems like WWE wants to continue the feud between Bryan and Kane. I think Bryan will enter the Rumble and Kane (probably when eliminated) eliminates Bryan which continues the feud. They will either face each other at the following pay-per-view or at Wrestlemania 31.

Rusev could win the rumble and face Cena in the main event. Then it will be the whole USA versus Russia angle. I think if anyone is going to give Rusev his first loss it will be someone who won’t tap out to his Accolade, I.E, John Cena and Daniel Bryan. On this occasion I think it will be Cena.

Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and Dean Amrbose are all good candidates too.

I like to see Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn in the rumble, even if they’re in the match for only a matter of minutes. Since Neville lost the NXT world title it could elevate him a push on the main WWE roster. I can see him having a great feud with either Wyatt or Amrbose. =)

It’d be great to see Scott Hall participate too. For many years I always wanted to see Scott Hall coming out to Razor Ramon’s music and enter the rumble. Since he appeared in the Raw Reunion episode perhaps there’s a chance that he’ll appear in the Royal Rumble too?

Sting’s Future Involvement

I’m super excited that Sting has finally made his appearance in WWE.

I knew that he was part of the WWE system but I didn’t really think that I would see him in the actual WWE ring. His new theme is growing on me a little but I feel that they should have used his classic crow theme for his actual debut. His sudden appearance certainly caused a big impact but I still think they should have used his old theme for a short period. I wonder why he isn’t using his baseball bat. It’s his trademark weapon. Perhaps he’ll introduce it if or indeed when he faces Triple H?

It’s no secret that he wants to face the Undertaker but I think WWE are gearing him up to face Triple H. In the WWE 2K15 panel he said that he’d like to face Triple H as well. Since he keeps on thwarting Triple H’s schemes I think it could lead to a Wrestlemania match.

In an alternative ideal world it would be Seth Rollins vs Sting at Wrestlemania, Sting vs Triple at Summerslam and Sting vs Undertaker at next year’s Wrestlemania. However, it seems to me that Sting rather go up against wrestlers from his own generation (i.e., Triple H) rather than the younger generation.

So far I like the angle that they’re doing with Sting. He is being the vigilante who keeps on thwarting the Authority from getting their own way. It’s similar to the situation he was in when he was in the angle with the N.W.O. back in the WCW days. We know that he’s a vigilante and his “finger point” was clearly directed at Triple H, but it’s a matter of finding out why. I don’t want to guess why this might be but it makes me look forward to seeing Sting more. I highly anticipate that we will see Sting in the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. =)

THANKS FOR READING

Right now I’m currently watching the FA Cup updates. Liverpool and Bolton are coming on TV later and I’m looking forward to it. Afterwards I’m going to listen to the Non Non Biyori drama CD that came recently. I’ve been waiting for a while for that to arrive and it’s finally here. =)

Something has been bugging me for a while. The quote ‘killing two birds with one stone’ does not make sense. Sure, I know what the phrase means but it still doesn’t add up. Thinking logically, is it really possible to kill birds by throwing stones at them? I couldn’t kill a single bird with one stone, let alone two at the same time. Stones were made to kill Goliath, not birds. 😉

Ahem-

High School DxD is truly a wonderful anime. I put the Blu-ray on and my love for this anime rekindled. I knew how much this anime means to me but once I put the Blu-ray one my excitement for this anime has exploded. This is currently in the top five of my all-time favourite anime. It’s no secret that this contains a lot of skin exposure and kick-ass lady fighters but the story delves much deeper than the naked ladies. It involves ranking systems through chess pieces and kick-ass actions between devils, angels and fallen angels. It also involves the main protagonist’s school life as his comrades also go to the same school. I could go on but basically this anime ticks all the boxes of what I like to see in a story. =)

I decided to construct a little review of this and divide this into two parts. Part one will be about the specials that came with the Blu-ray disc 2. I wondered if I should make this part two for chronological order. Then I thought ‘oh, who gives a two milk shakes, I’m doing it anyway!’ And so, here is the result of my decision.

SYNOPSIS

Issei Hyoudou, your typical high school student, dreams of having his very own harem of beautiful girls. The story begins when he goes on a date with an enchanting girl. His relationship was going well, until that fateful night… after she unveiled her mask as a fallen angel she brutally attacks and kills Issei. It’s not exactly an ideal start to any story but all is not lost. He is later ‘reincarnated’ into a devil by a red-haired beauty who later proclaims that she is his ‘master’. With his normal life now officially flushed down the toilet Issei is now caught up in the battle between the devils and the church. Who will come out triumphant?

One of the best things about disc two, well, probably the best thing about disc two is the five minute specials. They’re called “Fantasy Jiggles Unleashed”. An apt name, if I do say so myself. Haha.

3.1. FANTASY JIGGLES UNLEASHED

3.1.1. ~Going to the Beach~

Ah, a beach episode, a compulsory must have for all anime. Haha.

It contained full of mishaps when Rias asked Issei to rub her back with oil… I could see this coming a mile away. One little slip and Issei gets into a ‘tangle’ with Rias. Asia then joins in and becomes part of that ‘tangle’. For some reason, Issei has to face the consequences and is buried in the sand. I found this to be a little harsh. Sure, I’m certain he got a kick out of it (who wouldn’t?) but did it really merit a punishment? Especially considering that what he did wasn’t deliberate.

3.1.2. ~Akeno’s Private Training~

This was, for one of the better word, engaging. Haha. It contains Akeno’s ‘training’. I was very intrigued since Issei and Akeno sort of manhandled each other. Again, Issei found himself in a sticky situation, as does Akeno…literally. Haha. I thought a physical relationship was brewing between the two, and I approved. I consider Rias and Asia as both the alpha females of the show and probably are the front runners to becoming the one for Issei… so this was an opportunity for Akeno to get chance. Until we see Issei hugging Asia in his sleep… it was a flipping dream and nothing more. Asia certainly doesn’t mind him hugging her too much, whether it’s deliberate or not. That’s interesting to see.

3.1.3. ~Koneko, a bit more bold~

Rias puts a magic spell on Issei’s ‘drink’ to combat his perverted-ness. However, since Koneko drunk this instead, it had the opposite effect and made her ultra-perverted. You could say she was a cat on heat. Haha. Asia was noble here. I like girls like Asia, someone who is timid yet very brave when they need to be. I whole heartedly approve. I thought Rias didn’t mind Issei’s dirty minded nature though? I found this slightly perplexing but then I remembered that these specials are nothing more but juicy extras.

3.1.4. ~The story of the first Dress Break~

Out of all the specials I would say this is probably the most probing for me. To me, Rias is very much out of character. Sure, it’s entertaining to watch but to see Rias being embarrassed about being naked seems very out of character. To see her hide her modesty seems rather strange. She even slept with Issei completely naked. Why would she get embarrassed now? Perhaps it’s more about being stripped rather than being naked? Akeno and Asia were in complete character when they were stripped. Asia didn’t mind being stripped as it would assist Issei in his training and Akeno didn’t mind because…she’s Akeno.

3.1.5. ~Making Udon Noodles~

What a surprise, all the udons turned into tentacles and groped all the ladies and neglected the guys… This was funny to watch because Rias is godly strong and I bet she could easily power her way out of those tentacles. Still, if she did that, they’d be no special episode. Haha!

3.1.6. ~Asia transforms~

Asia trying to be a ‘bad’ person and be more like a devil was undoubtedly my favourite. It’s very much like Asia to try and be one with the gang and impress everyone. Issei recognises this and finds her adorable, as do I. Of course Issei is perverted but he’s not O.T.T. He’s never taken advantage out of Asia’s good nature and he likes her for who she is. He said the right thing, Asia should be who she is, Asia. She is accepted for who she is and so she shouldn’t try to act any different. He did all the right things…

Except, he was careless exposing the hicky that Asia gave him. Issei was lucky that Rias didn’t go wild on him.

BONUS

We have the introduction to the Occult Club where Issei and his two cronies introduce the main ladies of the show…poor Kiba. He’s part of the main cast yet because he’s not Issei and he doesn’t have boobs he’s completely overlooked. Haha. They were in form of audio episodes. We learn some interesting facts about each character.

I must say though, I’m not really sure how I feel about overly perverted characters, especially Issei’s cronies. The first overly perverted character that I came across was Tomoki Sakurai from Heaven’s Lost Property. At first I thought this was hilarious as I found it silly, daring and unexpected. However, it appears to be a common type of character in some anime. I must say though, the more characters I see with this trait, I less amusing I find them. Depending on how they are represented in the show I tend to find these types of characters more on the creepy side as oppose to funny. Talking about the girls, watching dirty dvds and dirty magazines is one thing, all young males do that. But, the issue for me would be if they go the extra mile and, for example, ‘peek’ on the ladies if they are changing clothes. Of course, I’m not implying that perverted characters shouldn’t exist but for me a line would probably have to be drawn. =)

More bonus features include the promotional video, the commercial collection and the US trailer of High School DxD. Admittedly, I never watch dub anime as I prefer listening to anime in Japanese.^^/ They also showed trailers for anime shows like Heaven’s Lost Property: Forte and Is This a Zombie? Of the Dead. They were fun to watch. =)

We also can indulge into the textless opening and ending songs. The opening is –Trip Innocent of D- by Larval Stage Planning and the closing is STUDY x STUDY by StylipS. Both are cracking songs and they blend in well with the video. Of course the visuals are sensual and stimulating but they’re appropriate for the story. We have to face the facts…the anime is all about the boobs. Haha. The sexual parts, whether in the specials, opening sequences or in the show itself, whilst not dominant it’s the underlining theme and is used in a tasteful manner. At least, that’s what I think. =)

The opening was quite dramatic if you look past the boobs, which I can imagine must be hard. We see beautifully illustrated visuals, especially the various emotions that Rias shown, especially with her crying. It proper had my heart pounding. I interpret on the ending to emphasize Issei’s possible harem. It’s like showing Issei as some poker dealer and Rias, Akeno and co being his ‘ladies’. This may sound weird but I thought Rias and Asia cuddling up to him rather cute. Once again I feel sorry for Kiba as he didn’t get enough love…then again, he does get showered with attention from the female extras but they’re irrelevant. 😉

CONCLUSION

I’ve not even touch on the anime itself but disc 2 was brilliant and had loads of features that I didn’t really know existed. The story has a deep meaning but you probably wouldn’t believe me if you watched the specials first. The specials contained mostly saucy moments and are in no way connected with the main plot…well, the Dress Break is debatable.

The only thing that I probably questioned is how the specials represented Rias. To me, she was out of character multiple times. I know I’ve been probing and questioning how Rias is used during the review but really they’re just fleeting thoughts on my part. I can easily look outside the box and just enjoy it. After all, the specials were specifically made for juicy extras.

I could re-watch the specials and the textless opening and ending countless of times and never tire of them. There’s no deep meaning to these specials at all, it’s just light-hearted fun. =)

It wasn’t my intention to review my favourite anime and manga when I started blogging, it just sort of happened. I was blogging about how I cope with Autism around the same time when I started to get into manga. It was at this point, I thought, that I could actually add another string to my bow (aka my blog) and review manga. Reviewing my favourite things, such as anime, manga and movies, would be another good way for me to express myself. Most of my friends and family don’t share this common interest with me so I don’t really have anyone to talk about this kind of stuff with. How do I solve this problem? Simple. Share my thoughts through the art of blogging. =)

I didn’t really know how to review a story. Is there only one way of reviewing? Initially I sort of just used my instinct and just spoke about what I enjoyed about that story. I also posted some anime news that I was happy about, especially concerning High School DxD. I could have easily researched previous reviews of anime and manga but I didn’t want to be influenced, so, I just went with my gut instinct. =D

When reviewing entertainment products I did find that I did probably force myself at times, especially when it comes to anime seasons. I felt I had to review every single anime that I watched. Here, I put unnecessary pressure on myself. Because I forced myself I wasn’t as natural as I could have been. It is at that point that I did research some reviews and this seemed to put more pressure on me to get it right. I felt that I ought to try to be more professional in my writing. This detracted my enjoyment of reviewing. It was only after the High School DxD Volume 2 that I had an epiphany… Reviewing manga, anime and films like a pro was never my intention to begin with.

The whole point of my ‘reviewing’ style is to share my enjoyment in manga and film and TV. My intention was to make my style personal rather than professional. After my reviews from High School DxD, I felt that my enjoyment and personality came out more. I actually enjoyed reviewing the latest manga and anime. I never forced myself to bring the words together, they all came together naturally. =)

I already have some anime and manga that I plan to review in the near future, but, I will not force myself to review them. I want to take my time and when I’m happy with it, I’ll share my thoughts on them with you. =) I think, in all honesty, my reviews are more like casual rambles. I feel like I’m a fan just spouting my thoughts on manga rather than analysing its contents.

I also found my own style of rating anime, manga and movies. You can check it out in the blog, My Rating System.

Here is a list of anime that I intend to review

High School DxD

Locodol

Non Non Biyori

A list of manga that I intend to review

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends – Now With 50% More Fail!

Nisekoi: False Love – Volume 4

No Game No Life – Volume 1

See Me After Class – Volume 1

A list of TV series that I intend to review

Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends – Series 1

A list of Movies that I intend to review

Iron Man

I originally had a category called ‘Ryan’s Game World’. I intended to review games but I never got round to them. A year has gone by since I started to blog and I still haven’t reviewed a game. I might review the games of Atelier Escha and Logy, Super Mario and Senran Kagura but I’ll see how things go. =)

THANKS FOR READING

I figured this blog would be an appropriate follow up to my First Year Blog Anniversary. I wanted to talk about my reviews in that blog but I deemed it not relevant, hence, why I made a separate blog for this one.

I bought the DVD series of Cat Planet Cuties![1] at a comic-con event from the Manga Entertainment booth. =D …or was it Sekirei that I bought? Did I get it for my birthday? Hmm, I’m not 100% certain on that. Regardless! I have the series collection in possession and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Haha.

Here it is. =)

SYNOPSIS

It all started when Kio Kakazu and his badass Uncle (he has shades and a moustache, need I say more) were holding a memorial party for Kio’s great-great grandfather. At that point, Eris, a cat girl from space, somewhat gate crashes and joins in with the gathering.

Eris came to Planet Earth to play and establish ties with the planet’s government on behalf of the Catian felines. Not everyone is as open minded as Kio though so Eris needs to keep a low profile as the dog aliens were conspiring with the government to take Eris out! During all of this commotion Kio had to accommodate the needs of his voluptuous yet naïve guest, including her mating season.

What’s the most charming feature in this show? Cat girls of course. 😉 You’ve got to love cat girls, and if not, why not? I adore mermaids, angels and lamias but cat girls do give them all a healthy competition for the top spot. All the cat girls from this show have done their race proud. All the cat girls in this show, which are called Catians, come in different shapes and sizes. They’re all nice to boot.

Eris is especially wonderful, but man oh man, isn’t she tall! In fact, there are a lot of tall ladies here, and there’s even one that makes Eris looks small. So, the question is…is Eris tall, or, is Kio (the main male) small? My answer, both.

Unfortunately, cat girls don’t exist in real life. However, for some reason, I feel that this could have happened in real life. I think it’s because technology and spaceships were used rather than magic. With the way with how the technology was deployed is no different to that of Iron Man and X-Men.

What adds to the realism to this show is not the story per se, but, the art. In most anime you will note, the eyes of the female tend to be bigger than the face’s overall proportions. Likewise, the noses tend to be very, very small, and in some art they don’t actually exist. The proportions in this anime are realistic, to some extent. I thought Eris looked a little bit stretched though, but you have to remember, she’s taller than the average girl. It would be natural for her to be a little bit longer, especially in the department of her legs and stomach. Haha. I have drawn her couple of times and I thought “this doesn’t like right”. But, as I compare her to her actual self, I actually think its ok. =)

I couldn’t get the same vibe with the English dub as I could with the Japanese dub. It’s always a tall order for the English voiced actors to capture the same charm and essence as the Japanese voice talent, so they do deserve some credit. I will always prefer the original Japanese though, since it feels more natural and I get more enjoyment from it. =)

Lawry’s melody with the whole cast joining in with the singing was proper cheese-on-toast. XD It felt like one of those Disney movie moments when the cast suddenly break into song. I wasn’t so keen on that, in all honesty. I felt it would have been more sentimental if Lawry had just sung the song herself, I could tolerate it though. =) Minori Chihara, the voice of Lawry, seems to play a lot of roles who specialise in singing. It makes me wonder if she’s a professional singer in her own right.

Talking of singing, it leads nicely to the opening and ending theme songs. Kanae Itou (Eris), Haruka Tomatsu (Manami) and Kana Hanezaka (Aoi) all showed off their wonderful vocals and performed in these openings and endings. I actually like it when the cast lend their vocals to the theme songs of the anime, especially when they’re singing in character. It feels more personal and appropriate since the songs coincide within the realms of the story. It’s more personal when the characters sing it, especially when they sing about the boy that they like.^^/ Romance is quite key in this anime, so the songs were about soft romance, very appropriate.

I can usually distinguish Kana Hanezawa’s voice. When she is speaking or singing, she has that sweet, humble and underlining innocence about her. Most of her roles, by what I’ve observed, don’t differ too much from each other. If you listen to her other characters carefully, like Onodera from Nisekoi, Charlotte from Infinite Stratos, Nadako from Monogatari, Ruri from OreImo and Kobato from Haganai, you will notice that all of her vocals are the same. And, they certainly sound no different than her role in this series, Aoi Futaba. =)

Actors like Youko Hikasa and Saori Hayami are professional singers. When they sing in Anime shows, they tend to sing in their own voices rather than sing in their characters. This doesn’t necessarily detract from Kana’s singing talent though; I’m more or less observing the fact that she usually sings in character, and she does this very well. I can’t sing in my own voice, let alone in someone else’s voice. Haha.

I couldn’t take the villains seriously. The doggy lady is rather yummy and Muttery is clearly a character who is based on Hanna Barbera’s Muttley.[5] XD!

When romance is involved I tend to route for the girl to get her “man” rather than rooting for the guy… this show was no different. I don’t like drama or heartbreak so I tend to route for either a happy ending or a harem ending. If all the girls are after one guy, and the guy chooses one girl, then, he will break everyone else’s hearts. By choosing all of them, everyone is happy. However…

Whilst Kio attends to Eris’ beckon call and needs, a love-triangle started to develop. I was somewhat rooting for Eris above everyone else. Not necessarily because she’s a cat girl, but, because of her humble and lovely personality. Heck, I was even rooting for Chaika and the nice and mature Kuune to get involved in the action. Younger men with older ladies can be a nice change of pace from time to time. But! Everything untangled itself nicely. I’m very content with the hinted harem route. =)

Moral of the story is- if you’re dense and you’re having a hard time choosing between a cat girl, a potential mutant and a gun-girl freak, become a cat man and have them all as life partners… just make sure that you reside on Catian soil, otherwise they’ll lock you up and throw away the key.

BONUS

I noticed a few cameos of characters that appear in this show that belong to other anime. Look out for characters from Kampfer, The Sacred Blacksmith and The Familiar of Zero. =) I also think I saw the Light Novel covers of both Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends and No-Rin. Don’t quote me on this though, I might have imagined it.

The special features include textless openings, textless endings, episode commentaries, extra bonus endings, another ending, and special commentary from a key background character, Ichika.

We also have the unaired episode where all the characters play games. Some of these games had simple risks at stake; other games involved stripping. It’s all just needless fanservice really, but, you don’t see me complaining. Haha.

There was a lot of breaking the fourth wall here, especially when Ichika was involved.[6] Ichika plays quite a pivotal role, her VA, Ayaki Takayaki, is actually the show’s narrator, and so they sort of played on that. It was a lot of fun though. We also found something interesting about Ichika in the last episode of the series. She was nothing more than a background character as far as I was concerned, but, I want to know a lot more about her after I’d seen some interesting glimpses.

CONCLUSION

Cat girls using technology in a Sci-Fi programme is a very nice combination. I propose that I connected with this show as I feel it’s within the bounds of realism. The action was good too. Aoi is no alien but she can certainly hold her own in a fight, so it makes me think that she could be superhuman, like a mutant if you will… Hmm, I somehow neglected to talk about the action, oh well!

To top off the cat girls and Sci-Fi you have a romance brewing and a problem with the government. Kio might be dense but he did well to keep on his toes. I like all the characters really, especially Eris and the Catian army.

The eye catchers were nice too. Usually they’re pictures, but here, they’re animated with different characters saying “asobi ni ikuyo”.

Oh, and the sound was crisp too, especially when the characters are speaking inside their thoughts. It’s clear that they’re thinking. Haha, so many things I forgot to mention in the actual review…

That’s right; you’ve heard it here first. Why rate it like this like? Well… I like it more than a Thumb’s up but not as much as Two Thumbs up. Thus, I resorted to a happy medium in the form of One Thumb’s up and a Pinky. Haha.

THANKS FOR READING

I must say, I really enjoyed this review and I enjoyed this anime too. D-Frag Volume two is out now on Amazon.co.uk so I should get my very own copy in the next couple of days. =) It’s hinted that the production crew wants to continue with Cat Planet Cuties! It’s been about three or four years since it’s aired in Japan, and unfortunately, there’s no indication that there will be a follow up to this series. I’ll keep my fingers crossed though. =)

The new anime season is upon us. None have caught my eye as of yet but I will keep my eyes peeled. I’ve still got my High School DxD Blu-ray to watch. I decided that I will spend an entire day watching this anime back to back, so, I will choose the time and day when it’s convenient for me. =)

From time to time I’ve been tempted to review Locodol, Non Non Biyori and Nisekoi: False Love. I’ll see how I feel in future. =)

Thanks for reading.
Sayonara.^^/

Ryan

[1] The Japanese title of Cat Planet Cuties! is Asobi ni Ikuyo! This roughly translates to “We Came to Play!”

[5] Muttery is basically a tribute to the character Muttley. Muttley is best known for his appearances in the Hanna-Barbera Productions of Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying MachinesandWacky Races. Muttery even uses Muttley’s trademark snigger. =)

[6] On a stage of a room there are usually three walls. The fourth wall is presumed to be there, but it’s invisible. The audience is watching the TV/play on that fourth wall. The fourth wall is “broken” when the actor/performer engages with the audience through the fourth wall. Think of British sitcoms like Miranda and Mrs Brown’s Boys.

Yesterday I turned 26 on the 26th day of June. That was a funny coincidence. Or was it? 😉

My kind of day is a peaceful one. No noise, no fuss, just quiet time with a few familiar faces. Fortunately, my birthday was a quiet tranquil day. I spent the majority of the morning drawing. I told myself that I was going to have that day to rest, but really, drawing and writing bring up a lot of positivity in me. I find it very rewarding when I get a clear picture in my head of a scene or character. =)

I spent the afternoon watching DVDs of the anime, Cat Planet Cuties! I’ve seen up to 6 episodes and I’m very much enjoying it. It’s very cute and I really enjoy the art.^^/ I’m definitely going to watch more episodes. All of them in Japanese audio.^^

I received many birthday wishes, text wishes, many cards and a few presents. All the presents are wonderful. =)

I got the Non Non Biyori soundtrack, and I’m definitely happy about that. If you have read my blog a few times you would know how much I love Non Non Biyori, especially the music. So, I greatly appreciate this. I greatly appreciate High School DxD blu-ray. It is one of my favourite anime, possibly in my top 5. I then got the Atelier Escha and Logy game. I’m enjoying the anime and I can see myself enjoying the game, and low and behold I received this game as a gift. I received another gift- a Donkey Kong T-shirt. Haha. =D

I got a birthday cake from my parents in the form of the Avengers. And if there’s something that I learned this year it’s that I’m terrible at cutting. I made a total mess of the cutting so I had to relieve myself of those duties and pass the responsibility on to Mum. XD I had that cake and it was delicious, everyone had the Captain America part but I chose to have the parts of Iron Man. Haha.

Then I just spent the rest of the evening playing Mario Kart 8. It was fun but my brother, as kind as he is, switched my bike with a rubbish one without me knowing…rascal. XD

In short, it has been a very nice day.

Oh- speaking of High School DxD, I found out this morning that a third season of High School DxD has been announced. So yes, yesterday was a good day. For once, the sun and rain have treated me kindly. =)

I’m pleased to hear of the news that the anime, Mushibugyou, will release a couple of OVAs in the near future. The first one will be released on 18th July. July is going to be a very good month for me, in more ways than one.^^

For those who haven’t seen the anime or read the manga, Mushibugyou is set in Tokyo during the Edo-era. Tokugawa Yoshimune, the eighth shogun, created a new magistrate unit, the Mushibugyou, to protect the civilians from giant insects. Mushi is another term for insects/bugs and bugyou means Magistrate. =)

I first saw this on Crunchyroll and I must admit, my expectations were low and they didn’t really grow much for the first 8 episodes or so. I started to enjoy this a lot, lot more when a certain character made her debut. From then on, I would wait excitedly for each episode to be released weekly. All the characters are quirky, the fights are very good, the girls have beautiful designs and there is no heavy drama involved. This became an instant favourite of mine and I was severely disappointed when it ended. I also enjoyed the relationships that the girls had with Jinbei. They were all unique and endearing; the forbidden love between Jinbei and Kuroageha was especially interesting.

Apparently, the whole season of Mushibugyou covered a good 100 chapters of the alternative manga; Joujuu Senjin!! Mushibugyou. I heard as well that the conclusion of the fight in the anime differed to that of the manga. I wasn’t too surprised when I heard this because the same situation happened with Sekirei. In the latest season, Sekirei: Pure Engagement, in order so as not to run ahead of the Manga, the production crew created a conclusive storyline. Ironically, I find it interesting that Seven Arcs produced both Mushibugyou and Sekirei.

If I were to change anything, I would have divided the anime show into more than one season. If the anime had covered all the arcs, it would have caught up with the timeline in the manga. I would assume the anime would have missed out a lot of the plot from the manga and likely added a few anime-only materials in order to conclude the story. Apart from that, I have no qualms.^^

It makes me wonder what will happen in the OVAs. If they really did catch up with the events in the manga then it would mean that these OVAs will be anime-only materials. I anticipate that we will get a beach episode because there’s official artwork of the beautiful female cast wearing bikinis and have that “beach” feel to them. Plus, it seems imperative for most anime to have at least one beach orientated episode. Haha. =D

It would be nice if Mushibugyou was released in English, perhaps licensed by Seven Seas or Kodansha. Sadly, it doesn’t look like this will happen, at least not in the near future. It even has a game out for the 3DS, but I can’t get it, since its Japan only. My only hope really is for Mushibugyou anime to be licensed by America, then the UK. I think MVM will more likely go after this anime rather than Manga Entertainment, I don’t know why, it’s just an inkling. =)

At some point I will write a more comprehensive review of this anime as I really, really like it and have a lot to say. I have two music CD’s sung by the characters Hibachi and Oharu and the 2014 calendar of Mushibugyou. It’s currently May/June and it is a collage photo of Jinbei. What fun. =)

I learned that Yen Press has licensed High School DxD but now I come to learn that the Anime has been licensed by UK Company Manga Entertainment. =D I’m not sure when the Blu-Ray or DVDs are released but the manga is definitely going to go on my Birthday list. =D

I’m pleased to see that the series is doing very well, especially outside of Japan. The sequel to High School DxD, High School DxD New (yes that is the actual title ;-)) has especially been a big hit.

This is, in fact one of my favourite Anime. It has severe cheeky moments. But I honestly feel that there is more to the show then the severe cheeky moments. It has an underlining strong meaning behind the plot of the show. I dare say that the show doesn’t need to have ‘stimulating’ and cheeky situations because the story is very good. But it does have those kinds of situations because it is part of the charm of that show.

Apparently the author of the Light Novel said that he couldn’t add any more erotic and stimulating situations in the story since he would have to change the age restrictions. I personally find the story itself charming and I like the type of characters in it and how angels and demons are portrayed. I also like how some of the demons represent chess pieces. I originally had this idea in mind for a story but evidently High School DxD beat me to it. I especially liked the choreography of the fights. It’s not as predictable as one might assume. At least not for me.^^

Here is a quick summary of the show, in my own words, in case you fancy watching it…

A high school student called Issei, dreams of having his own harem full of beautiful girls. He goes on his very first date with an enchanting girl but it didn’t end so well…the girl, soon revealed to be a fallen angel, brutally attacks and kills him. All is not lost as he is later reincarnated as a devil by his beautiful red-haired upperclassman. She later proclaims that she is also a devil and so becomes his master. His normal life has gone and he is now part of the battle between the devils and angels. Who will come out triumphant?

…I did myself proud there being as brief as possible! I always thought that capability was beyond me! XD.

I would recommend this Anime to anyone, unless I know that you’re really not going to enjoy it. 😉 I’m looking forward to the release of the Manga and the Anime. Speaking of which, I’m going to share with you my first review next week on the Thomas film, King of the Railway. Be sure to check it out. =)

Ahem-

2014 is going to be a fantastic year for High School DxD and I will eventually review this in more detail.